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Not all of the ways that homeschooling improves us are enjoyable. Some of the things that benefit us, that grow us as people are difficult, to say the least. The training for this section is one I’d rather not endure. Because in order to feel empathy for the pain of others, we need to live through our own pain first.

Now it doesn’t have to be exactly the same pain, though that does help. If we have lost a pet, for instance, we can comfort someone who has recently lost a canine companion a bit better than someone who never experienced the same situation.

But trials are trials, pain is pain, grief is grief. All are part of the human condition. You only need read a bit of the Bible to know that suffering comes with the Christian life. If the world causes you problems, remember it did that to our Lord—only much more so.

First off, I’ll say that parenting with or without homeschooling completes much of this training. Opening your life to the struggles of new lives, gifts from the Lord, softens you. It’s how God wired us. Our desire to nurture and protect our offspring has been hardwired into us. We want to take all their burdens upon us and pave their way into a bright future. But as flawed sinners, we make a lot of mistakes. Still, in our best and most empathetic parenting, we imitate our Lord who took all of our burden of sin upon himself and paved the best path to a bright future that we could dream of—eternal life.

But homeschooling adds an extra layer. Anything your child suffers through, you see. You are there watching it. You do your best to help, but you can only do so much. Children must learn. And some have to learn the hard way or none of the lessons sink in and become personal. How much you, the homeschooling parent wants to complete the task or learn the lesson on the child’s behalf! But that won’t do any good. So you coach. You stand alongside. And quietly (or not so quietly) suffer the pain your student endures.

All of this, all of this coming alongside, opens you up to the trials and sufferings of others. One thing homeschool parents do well when they assemble is share notes. What they have just endured might help another.